Teaching Arabic in Our Schools: Globalizing Education for Chicago's Next Generation

To enhance Chicago's reputation as a global city, create opportunities for young Chicagoans, and set an example for other US cities on how to inspire a diverse generation of children to become globally aware, tolerant, and educated in other cultures, access to Arabic language instruction for st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2015, p.1-18
Main Authors: Ander, Roseanna, Edwards, Brian T, Herda, Sarah
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Children & youth/Families & family life
Education
Government
Social conditions & trends
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:To enhance Chicago's reputation as a global city, create opportunities for young Chicagoans, and set an example for other US cities on how to inspire a diverse generation of children to become globally aware, tolerant, and educated in other cultures, access to Arabic language instruction for students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) needs to be significantly expanded. This initiative would symbolize Chicago's vision for the global citizenship of our next generation, bring together students from diverse populations, and be an important step in preparing Chicago's youth for the challenges and opportunities of the future. Currently, seven elementary schools and five high schools in CPS offer Arabic as a world language, reaching a total of 3,127 students. While this is an impressive number, it is less than 1 percent of the 400,000 students in the CPS system. In some cases, particularly in high schools, a full curriculum in Arabic is offered, while in elementary schools Arabic instruction tends to be limited to an hour or two per week. While several schools where Arabic is offered include students of Arab heritage, for most of the 3,127 students Arabic is an entirely new language. We propose a plan to triple the number of public schools teaching Arabic over the next five years to reach 10,000 students in primary and secondary levels and to double that number again in the following decade. Overall, the goal is to reach 20,000 students, or 5 percent of total CPS enrollment across all socioeconomic groups and throughout the entire city. By doing so Chicago will establish itself as a national leader in globally minded public education and set a standard other cities will seek to follow.